Cordilleran Section
Best Student Papers
The Cordilleran Section recognizes the high quality of science being presented at our meetings in general, and by our
student members in particular. The Section acknowledges this excellence by awarding Best Paper and Honorable Mention
awards for student presentations in each of the following four categories: Undergraduate Poster, Undergraduate Oral,
Graduate Poster, and Graduate Oral. If Professional members are interested in participating in evaluating these
presentations, please contact the Section Chair, or the Local Organizing Committee Chair.
2024 Awardees
Tage Young, Montana Technological University, Graduate Poster Presentation
Fenitization of mafic wallrock associated with emplacement of REE-rich carbonatites of Sheep Creek, southern Ravalli Co., Montana
Haley Dietz, Idaho State University, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Quantifying pre-eruptive magmatic water content of eastern Snake River Plain basaltic melts using olivine and plagioclase hygrometry with implications for magmatic differentiation
Juliana Karl, University of Iowa, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Provenance of the Paleocene Turlock Member using detrital garnet and apatite, Fort Union Formation, Powder River basin
Hannah Sulas, Fort Lewis College, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Source delineation of arsenic contamination in drinking water in southeastern Utah
2023 Awardees
Olivia Hart, University of Nevada Reno, Graduate Poster Presentation
Tectonic significance and formation processes of pseudotachylite near June Lake, CA
Liz Lum, University of Nevada Reno, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Micron-scale element changes with continental impacts: Assessing deformation-related element mobilization in uhp zircons from the western Gneiss Region, Norway
Sarah Hickernell, Stanford University, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Conditions and timescales of rhyolite storage in the Miocene Searchlight Magmatic System, NV
Graham Johnson, University of Washington, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
To be (accurate) or not to be (accurate): Constraining error of boulder measurements between google earth and photogrammetry in the eastern Himalaya
Jane Martinez, Humboldt State University, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Undergraduate cohort research experience investigating thermo-tectonic response of the northern Klamath Mountains to Eocene Siletzia collision
Henry Marine, California State University Chico, Undergraduate Poster Award, Runner up
Correlating Mt. Yana lavas with Tuscan Formation breccias: showcasing geologic research in public outreach with the Myana Explorer Field Trip app
2022 Awardees
Victoria Arnold, San Jose State University, Graduate Poster Presentation
Construction and structure of the northern margin of the late cretaceous sonora pass intrusive suite, north-central Sierra Nevada Batholith, California
Genevieve Kidman, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Stress distributions in polycrystalline quartz using Raman spectroscopy
Luis Velderrain Rojas, Universidad de Sonora, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Isla San Pedro Nolasco: A late Miocene intrusive record at the eastern margin of the Gulf of California: insights from geological, geochemical, geochronological, and paleomagnetic studies
William McCormick, Fort Lewis College, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Integrating remote sensing and in-situ measurements to produce a cost-effective bathymetric map of Haviland Lake in Durango, Colorado
Jaycee Chango, Oregon State University, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Textural and geochemical analysis of plagioclase from Todd Lake Volcano and Triangle Hill Dome Complex of central Oregon
Jack Tingwall, Fort Lewis College, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Channel complexity on the Dolores River: using planet labs imagery to measure side channel length for different discharges during 2019 release from McPhee Reservoir
2021 Awardees
Juliet Ryan-Davis, California Institute of Technology, Graduate Poster Presentation
Mixed mode deformation in the transpressional Grant-Parker shear zone, Eastern Sierra Nevada, CA
Mary Mass, Portland State University, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Compositions of dikes from the northern and southern portions of the Chief Joseph dike swarm
Vanessa Swenton, Portland State University, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Assessing space and time trends in Miocene co-CRBG rhyolites and rhyolites of the High Lava Plains trend of eastern Oregon
Nina Bowness, Trinity University, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Potential effects of orographic precipitation on rates of erosion and isostatic uplift of the Wasatch Fault Zone footwall
Javaria Aziz, San Diego State University, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Physical volcanology of fragmented volcanic rocks in the Miocene Jacumba/Alverson volcanics, Devil’s Canyon, California
Christina Scott, California State University Sacramento, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Geochemistry and geochronology of a Precambrian plagiogranite in the Sierra City melange, northern Sierra Nevada, California
2019 Awardees
Katherine A. Alexander, Western Washington University, Graduate Poster Presentation
Rates and kinematics of active crustal faults in the central Oregon Cascades
Peter M. Zander, Sonoma State University, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Mercury deposits of northern California
2018 Awardees
Derek Andrew Caro, University of California Davis, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Detrital zircon geochronology of Sierra De Maz: Implications for provenance of the western margin of Gondwana
Katie C. P. Leary, New Mexico Tech, Graduate Poster Presentation
Practical guidelines for estimating sand bedload in rivers by tracking dunes
2017 Awardees
Jason Womer, Graduate Poster Presentation
Geometry and tectonic implications of the northern snake range fold and thrust system
Nicky Wright, University of Sydney, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
The influence of the Pacific Ocean basin on reconstructions of ocean basin volume and global sea level fluctuations
Alexander Wrobel, University of California Santa Barbara, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Characterizing pre-miocene lower plate structures of the northern snake range metamorphic core complex, eastern Nevada: insights into the role of tectonic heredity in metamorphic core complex evolution
Mildred Zapeda-Martinez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Graduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Sinistral normal block motion of crustal blocks in southern Mexico during pangea breakup: new evidence from sandstone provenance analysis of the Tezoatlán basin
Krista McGillivray, University of Florida, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Exploring subglacial magmatism in Iceland using detrital zircon: a case study from northeastern Vatnajökull
Erin Arnston, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Geochemistry, U-Pb ages, and HF isotopes of the Mt. Draper and Mt. Stamy plutons, Nunatak Fjord, Alaska: implications for the Sanak-Baranof plutonic belt
Megan Raisle, University of North Carolina, Undergraduate Poster Presentation, Runner up
Fracture or fault? Using 3D imaging to determine the dilation vector of the earthquake fault near Mammoth Lakes, California
2016 Awardees
Gabriel-Philip Santos, California State University, Graduate Poster Presentation
Description of the sedimentology and taphonomy of the late Uintan Talega bonebed from Orange County, California
Isaac Magallanes, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
The most complete fossil walrus from southern California provides insights on patterns of walrus diversity through time
Rebecca Steever & Katie Pickett, California State University, Runners-up
Evaluating a potential connection between the late Jurassic-early Cretaceous Osa Creek Ring Complex and the Blackrock Andesite, southern Sierra Nevada, California
Sean L. Tanner, University of Puget Sound, Runner up
Between the crescent and the arc: petrology of early-to-middle Eocene igneous units in western Washington
Kevin M. DeLano, Runner up
Geologic investigations in the Black Mountain area, northern eastern California shear zone: testing a kinematic and geometric fault slip transfer model
Michael G. Prior, University of Texas, Runner up
Late-stage slip history of the Buckskin-Rawhide detachment fault and temporal evolution of the Lincoln Ranch supradetachment basin: new constraints from the middle Miocene sandtrap conglomerate
2015 Awardees
Gabriela Ferreira, Portland State University, Graduate Poster Presentation
Arsenic mobilization from silicic volcanic rocks in the southern Willamette Valley
Kyle Milke, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Transport mechanisms of metal-bearing historic mine tailings in a semi-arid environment
Nicole Knight, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Graduate Oral Presentation
An assessment of tellurium in semi-arid mine tailings at Delamar, Nevada: Implications for human and ecosystem health
Benjamin G. Johnson, West Virginia University, Graduate Oral Presentation
Early Paleozoic assembly of the north slope subterrane: evidence from an accretionary complex exposed in the northeastern Brooks Range, Alaska
Riley Witte, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Undergraduate Oral Presentation
Evaluating potential for recovery of TE as a byproduct of AU extraction at the Golden Sunlight Mine (Whitehall, MT)
2014 Awardees
Fabian Hardy, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Graduate Poster Presentation
Great Basin bison latifrons: stable isotope paleoecology
Brian Gadbois, California State University Fullerton, Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Dip of the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone in the vicinity of Lone Pine and Independence, California: Steep or shallow?
2011 Awardees
Jessica Bruns, California Polytechnic University-Pomona, Undergraduate Poster
Rare Earth Mineralization of Southern Clark County, Nevada
Brad Pitcher, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington, Undergraduate Poster
Crustal Assimilation in the Recent Mt. Etna Magma Plumbing System: Evidence From in Situ Plagioclase Textural And
Compositional Data
Zachary Anderson, U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona, Graduate Poster
Structural and Kinematic Analysis of Miocene Rocks, Black Canyon, Arizona and Nevada
Rachael Hunt, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington, Graduate Poster
Documenting the Origin of Compositional Diversity of Subduction Zone Magmatism, Alicudi, Aeolian Arc (Southern
Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) Using in situ Plagioclase Data
2010 Awardees
Jeanette Arkle, California State University, Fullerton, Outstanding Graduate Oral Presentation
Focused exhumation in the Southern Alaska Syntaxis
Sarah Nagorsen, Central Washington University, Honorable Mention, Graduate Oral Presentation
Fault kinematics in the Western Mina Deflection: field studies in the Adobe Hills, California
Pamela Clay, San Jose State University, Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation
Tectonic implications of ductile shear zones in the Jurassic Keiths Dome Pluton, Northern Sierra Nevada Batholith,
California
Chris Kohel, San Diego State University, Honorable Mention, Graduate Poster Presentation
Forearc basin evolution of the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Eugenia Formation: new mapping in the Vizcaino
Peninsula, Baja California Sur
Nathan Evenson, Carleton College, Outstanding Undergraduate Oral Presentation
U-Pb zircon geochronology and provenance of the Paleogene–Neogene Kootznahoo Formation, southeast Alaska
Tyanna Schlom, California State University, Fullerton, Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Earthquake magnitude and recurrence from scarp morphology, Eureka Valley Fault Zone, Eastern California
Michael Prior, California State University, Fullerton, Honorable Mention, Undergraduate Poster
Presentation
Constraining the exhumation history along inferred faults in the Western Chugach Mountains, Alaska
2009 Awardees
Josh Goodman, San Francisco State University, Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation
New constraints on the style, timing, and rates of post-middle-Pleistocene deformation in the Confidence Hills,
southern Death Valley, California
Marc Nabelek, Whitman College, Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Developing the Resazurin-Resorufin system as a “smart” tracer to measure microbial respiration and sediment-water
interactions
Ben Shapiro, University of Puget Sound, Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Unique geochemsitry of Gravelly Lake, Tacoma, Washington: evidence for a deep groundwater component
2008 Awardees
Heather Green Lackey, San Francisco State University, Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation
New insights on the pluvial history of Lake Manly and tectonic development of Southern Death Valley recorded in
Pliocene-to-Recent lacustrine stratigraphy
Michael Stearns, University of Utah, Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation
Assembly of the incrementally emplaced McDoogle Pluton, Central Sierra Nevada, CA
Steven Giovannoni, University of the Pacific, Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Impact of land use on water quality in the lower Calaveras River watershed
Mimi Pierson, Denison University, Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Geophysical evidence for Neoproterozoic rift basin underlying the Burke River Structural Belt, Eastern Georgina
Basin, Central Australia
2007 Awardees
No information
2006 Awardees
Andrew Greene, Univ. of British Columbia, Outstanding student oral presentation
Wrangellia flood basalts: Exploring the architecture and composition of an accreted oceanic plateau
Patrick Hanley, Trinity University, Texas, Outstanding undergraduate poster presentation
Detrital zircon dating of Jurassic Great Valley Group strata: implications for the early evolution of the Great
Valley forearc basin
2005 Awardees
Heather Bleick, Vanderbilt University — Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation
Production and distribution of hybridized magma in a replenished, open-system magma chamber; Aztec Wash pluton,
Eldorado Mountains, Nevada
Valbone Memeti, University of Southern California — Honorable Mention, Graduate Poster
Presentation
Regional and emplacement-related tectonism during intrusion of the Tuolumne batholith: Results from the Benson
Lake and May Lake Pendants, Sierra Nevada, California - Honorable mention, Graduate Poster Presentation.
Sunshine Mansfield, Humboldt State University — Outstanding Undergraduate Poster
Presentation
Geology south of Punta Gorda, Mendocino Triple Junction region, CA
Dylan Rood, UC Santa Barbara — Outstanding Graduate Oral Presentation
Neogene to Quaternary kinematics of the central Sierran frontal fault system in the Sonora Pass region:
Preliminary structural, paleomagnetic, and neotectonic results
Lee Murai, Moss Landing Marine Labs — Honorable Mention, Graduate Oral Presentation.
Trans-terrestrial landslides along the northern rim of the Circum-Pacific and the impact on the marine
environment: Big Sur coastline, California
2004 Awardees
No information
2003 Awardees
Martín Hernández-Marín, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México -- Outstanding Undergraduate Poster
Presentation
Deformability of volcano-lacustrine sediments during subsidence by aquitard consolidation
Sarah Gaudio, College of Wooster — Honorable Mention Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Discrimination and correlation of Peach Springs Tuff and Peach Spring age-equivalent ignimbrites by geochronology,
petrology, and immobile element geochemistry, northern Colorado River extensional corridor
Ryan Gold, Whitman College — Outstanding Undergraduate Oral Presentation
A comparative study of aerial photograph sand LIDAR imagery for landslide detection in the Puget lowland,
Washington
David Barbeau, University of Arizona — Honorable Mention Undergraduate Oral Presentation
Detrital zircon geochronology of basement and cover rocks from the Santa Lucia Mountains, California; new evidence
for limited transport of Salinia
Lorna Jaramillo, University of Colorado -- Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation
Remote sensing evaluation of element dispersion characteristics of porphyry copper deposits in the Silver Bell
Mountains, Arizona
Ewa Szynkaruk, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México — Honorable Mention Graduate Poster
Presentation
Tectonic implications of geomorphologic an structural characteristics of the Morelia - Acambay fault system,
central Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
Vlad Constantin Manea, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México — Outstanding Graduate Oral
Presentation
Thermal models, coupling and metamorphism for the Mexican subduction zone beneath Guerrero
Matthew Forrest, Moss Landing Marine Labs — Honorable Mention Graduate Oral Presentation
Present-day shallow-water hydrothermal venting along the El Requesón fault zone provides possible analog for
formation of Pliocene-age chert deposits in Bahía Concepción, B.C.S. México
2002 Awardees
Matthew Silver, Whitman College -- Outstanding Undergraduate Oral Presentation
Analysis of plan-view geometry of clastic dike networks in Missoula flood slackwater sediments (Touchet beds),
southeastern Washington
Robyn Cook, Middlebury College -- Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Differentiation of two Quaternary Mt. Hood lahars by clay mineralogical, quantitative X-ray diffraction and
particle size analyses
Tandis Bidgoli, San Francisco State University -- Honorable Mention Undergraduate Poster
Presentation
Determining uplift rates and patterns from Quaternary marine terraces of the Point Reyes Peninsula,
California
Jessica Olsen, California State University, Northridge -- Honorable Mention Undergraduate Poster
Presentation
Changes in the hydrogeology of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, Utah defined by shifts in mineralogy and Sr-isotope
composition
Brian Collins, University of California, Berkeley -- Outstanding Graduate Oral Presentation
Geotechnical observations and analyses of recent coastal bluff failures, Pacifica California
Derek Ryter, University of Oregon -- Honorable Mention Graduate Oral Presentation
Quaternary tectonic evolution of the central San Jacinto fault zone, southern California
Heather Petcovic, Oregon State University -- Honorable Mention Graduate Oral Presentation
Dike-wallrock interactions in granitoids of the Wallowa Mountains, NE Oregon
Michael O'Neal, University of Washington -- Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation
The effects of moraine degradation on lichenometric dating of Little Ice Age moraines
Brandi Molitor, Western Washington University -- Honorable Mention Graduate Poster Presentation
Extent and climatic implications of the Upper Truckee Glacier during the Tahoe glaciation -Assessing conflicting
scenarios
Todd Williams, Humboldt State University -- Honorable Mention Graduate Poster Presentation
The geodetic signature of modern deformation within the southern Cascade margin, northwestern California
Sean Fleming, University of British Columbia -- Honorable Mention Graduate Poster Presentation
Single and multiple mass transfer rates: Implications to groundwater contaminant transport at large temporal and
spatial scales from deterministic and stochastic analysis